Tabletop Teacher

There's not much I can add to what I've mentioned before with the new releases. They look amazing, but with the caveat I think you'll be able to pick up at the end of the post. Here's the new releases, going on pre-order sometime next week. Primaris Chaplain Image taken from Warhammer Community Looks great, and does the usual Chaplain trick of re-rolling To-Hits in the combat phase. He has a Stregnth 5 AP-1 pistol, presumably to make commissars jealous. But I think he looked better when he had pointy ears: Harlequins! That's a bit unfair really. Harlequins certainly don't have the monopoly on trench coats and hoods. They just have a similar aesthetic. Primaris Apothecary Image taken from  Warhammer Community The apothecary is the same as the vanilla one you'd find in the Index, just with an extra wound. It has the same special rule, which allows you to heal allies, or even bring them back from the dead. He has a cool gun which pu...

Codex Space Marine goes live today for pre-orders, along with a slew of other releases... I'm going to be quite busy this evening I think. Lets get started! Warhammer Community listed this as two images... I wonder if they're fed up of me using their images?  As you can see, we're blessed with 6 ways to get this. Digital Editions Being an old neckbeard, I prefer having paper to flick through and for my son to tear when I'm not looking. However, being a teacher, I can't stress how useful these digital books are for quick checking of rules and keeping the classroom tidy. eBook Edtion : No frills, just the book in digital form. At £24.99 it's cheaper than the paper copy, but if you're going the digital route, you really want the next one down. Enhanced Edition : Sadly still only for Mac users and the iBooks platform, this has a lot more functionality. Whilst some are a bit superfluous, the pop-up information boxes are really great for keeping...

Perhaps not of much interest to veteran players, but of great interest to a teacher like myself, there are three new hobby hooks for new players looking to start in 40K. Starting with what I think is the best is First Strike.  Budget starter for 40K Probably worth it for that 3 man Intercessor squad data sheet alone, this box represents the cheapest way to get games of 40K going. As someone who regularly has to recommend a £100 box set as the best place to start to students, this is very welcome. A minor criticism I've been holding for Dark Imperium has been the lack of tutorial missions, but according to Warhammer Community this box set will have those crucial starter games. The gaming mat and box set turning into cardboard scenery is of major interest to myself, as my students are getting a bit fed up with fighting on the Varnished Wood wasteland of Lab Count'a. This is a great segue into Dark Imperium, particularly if you like the Death Guard. Frankly ...

Just a quick one on these guys, and a little pat on the back for Games Workshop.  Gooey. These are easy build Death Guard Plague Marines, as revealed on Warhammer Community . There's absolutely nothing wrong with the models, and they even match well with the Dark Imperium numbers. Right now, the Dark Imperium box comes with 7 Plague Marines (Nurgle's number). These easy build plague Marines not only bump that up to a full squad of 10, but bring a special weapon with them. What this means is that you can now field one big Plague Marine unit, or two 5-man units each with a special weapon. Good.  Really gooey. Not so great with these guys, but easy to build horde models are alwas welcome. Unfortunately these look like they come in packs of six, and thus don't really gel well with the models you get from Dark Imperium. That said, they do have a rule where models they kill have a chance of adding to their unit, so maybe having some spare will be ...

You blink for a second, and the marketing wheels spins out 3 new kits. Keep your eyes on Warhammer Community guys, because there are new Primaris Space Marines on the horizon!  True Grit... real men hold bolters one handed. First up is the Captain. Games Workshop have been a bit Spartan on the details for this model, but what we do know is good. Despite rocking the Roman Mohawk, there will be no chapter icons on the model. You can make this guy into a White Scar, Ultramarine or even something a bit more special. As for rules, well, we can speculate it to have Rites of Battle like the current Captain in Gravis armour. It's simply too good a synergy with the Primaris Lieutenants, the Captain giving re-rolls on To-Hits of 1, and the Lieutenants giving the same on wounds. This guy looks familiar... Lookingsuspiciously like the Dark Vengeance Librarian crossed with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the next model up is a Primaris Librarian. That's all I really have to s...

We're into the last week before 8th edition hits, and Warhammer TV has posted up the first of the starter box tutorials. The video is below, but I just wanted to highlight a neat little detail in the instructions: The colour coding is new, with yellow parts being where you put the glue, blue parts having different options, and green parts having different poses on the minis. Whilst I can't say if this is a new policy, along with full colour instructions, or if this is just for the Dark Imperium starter kit, as a teacher I approve of the steps taken to make the process of making these models easier. You may be thinking that this level of support isn't needed. You have never encountered an 11-year old who's just realised he has to make his own toys. During build sessions at the club I frequently get questions like where to put the glue, and this booklet is going to make those sessions easier. Here's the full video: Until next time! Thanks for re...

I'm slightly annoyed I have to do this as my hit count has suddenly jumped to over 1000 hits a day, but I'm taking this weekend off. We've just had internal exams, and I'm current;y neck deep in Physics papers to mark. Unlike some subjects, there are a lot of questions I can zip through (calculations, graphs and diagrams) but then some where I need to really read and think (e.g. Just what does this person mean by the density collapsing under negative temperature? Can I give that a mark?) Also, it's my birthday this weekend. Happy birthday to me. Birthday cards and Physics tests...  That right there is a genuine Bugman's Brewery postcard send to me as a birthday card from a family member who perhaps understands nerds a little too well! I also got Star Wars cards. Good year! That post card though... I wonder if it's limited edition or not. The date is 2003, so I wonder if someone has sent me a better birthday present than they intended! Either ...

Starter Box kit and Pre-order Date here! And here are more things on release ! First, the index books, meaning you will need to set aside some money if you want to get started right away.  But what do those Index books have in them?!?! Happily there is a zoomed in image: Imperium 1: Astra Militarum, Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Knights, Imperial Agents (including Sisters of Battle?), Talons of the Emperor (Custodes and Sisters of Silence) Imperium 2: Space Marines, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Grey Knights, Deathwatch, Legion od the Damned Chaos: Heretic Astartes (Chaos Space Marines), Chaos Deamons, Questor Traitoris (Chaos Imperial Knights) Xenos 1: Orks, T'au, Tyranids, Genestealer Cults Xenos 2: Craftworlds, Drukhari (Dark Eldar), Harlequins, Ynnari (all the eldar), Necrons Also more accessories: And a book! I hope you've been saving up! Thanks for reading. If you liked what you saw, and you ...

It's here! Get hype!! 3rd of June!!! Two weeks!!!! Exclamation marks!!!!! Here's the contents: Here's the trailer: Here's some guys talking about the box: Here's some pictures of the units! Here's some books in the box: Here's some pages from those books: And there's more! Here's where my analysis would be if I wasn't at work! (Empty Space hopefully linking to analysis in the future) Until next time! Thanks for reading. If you liked what you saw, and you want to help out, please leave a comment. Sharing this with your friends, and following me on Twitter , Facebook or Google+ would also be hugely appreciated. If you have anything you want me to look at, let me know in the comments below. I'll probably be able to write an article about that topic within a day! If you really love what I do here, you can make a one of...